This invention relates to a flexible tube device for an endoscope, and particularly to a flexible tube device applicable to a wider usage.
Generally known is a flexible endoscope as inserted into a stomach, small intestine etc. to effect observation, examination and medical treatment of which a flexible tube is designed to insert a distal end into the interior of the human body and which has merely a predetermined pliability or flexibility. For this reason it is impossible to freely vary the pliability of the flexible tube according to the conditions under which it is used. This inflicts wide limitation on the usage of the endoscope. Suppose, for example, that the flexible tube is inserted through an anus into a colon for observation. Then it is preferred that the flexible tube portion be somewhat pliable as far as it is passed through an S-shaped colon. However, difficulty is presented in inserting it further into the interior of the human body, since its additional inserting force causes the flexible tube to be sagged or slacked to prevent any further insertion. If in such a case the pliability of the flexible tube can be freely adjusted to permit further insertion, then an endoscope finds a still wider application.